Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) has begun taking arrival travelers’ temperatures in light of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent worldwide public health notice on mpox, often known as monkeypox.
According to HSIA Executive Director Group Captain Kamrul Islam, the authorities are using the “Thermal scanner archway” to screen arriving passengers. If necessary, travelers exhibiting symptoms will be referred to Kuwait Bangladesh Maitree Hospital, Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), and Kurmitola General Hospital.
In this regard, a press release issued here today stated that Dhaka airport authorities met yesterday in response to the World Health Organization’s declaration of a worldwide health emergency because to the spike in mpox cases.
Officials of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), Communicable Disease Control(CDC)a unit of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), HSIA health department and airlines joined the meeting.
Decisions were made in the meeting for concerned stakeholders to remain alert and take responsibility in this situation to tackle the passengers with the Mpox symptoms.
CDC representatives have taken several protective measures such as avoiding close contact with people with suspected or confirmed monkeypox, wearing medical masks, avoiding skin-to-skin contact and using disposable gloves and washing hands regularly with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.
Airlines were instructed to stay vigilant and notify the health authorities right once if any of their passengers exhibited these symptoms.
Additionally, travelers are asked to contact 10655 if, within 21 days of arrival, any symptoms appear.
Member Operations Air Commodore AFM Atikuzzaman chaired the meeting, which was attended by airline representatives, HSIA Executive Director Group Captain M Kamrul Islam, CDC-DGHS Director Sheikh Daoud Adnan, IHR Senior Adviser Dr. Nasir Ahmed Khan, National Professional Officer – WHO Dr. ASM Alamgir, AOC Chairman Dilara Ahmed, and others.
A skin rash or mucosal lesions that can last two to four weeks, along with fever, headache, muscle aches, back discomfort, low energy, and enlarged lymph nodes, are frequent symptoms of mpox, according to the WHO.
According to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), the return of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and an increasing number of other African nations is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
